Annual Report 2021 - 2022

On behalf of the Board and the Western Parkland City Authority (WPCA), I am pleased to present the 2021-22 Annual Report.

The Federal and State Governments are driving huge improvements in the Western Parkland City with $20bn committed to game-changing infrastructure. This includes a new metro line, motorway and a 24/7 international airport.

Last year, the NSW Government unlocked this investment with an injection of more than $1 billion to kick start the creation of the Bradfield City Centre development. Since then, WPCA has begun fast tracking work to capitalise on this development as a way of driving economic prosperity across the Western Parkland City.

In the last year, we welcomed the transfer of land for the city centre from the Commonwealth Government, undertook detailed planning work and prepared Strategic and Final Business Cases. We secured $260 million to deliver a full-sized Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) and talked to the market about agribusiness opportunities in the broader Aerotropolis.

We also completed the design for the First Building, a multi-purpose shared-use facility where we will pilot the AMRF and published four tender packages for new equipment. And we issued the tender for civil works and construction of the First Building.

The market has responded with enthusiasm, and we are already attracting leading global tenants. We secured our first tenant for the First Building - Japanese conglomerate Hitachi and had confirmation that the country’s peak science organisation, the CSIRO, will move into a new purpose-built facility within the city centre.

Technology is driving rapid change and we’ve heard industry feedback that current education and training models are not keeping pace. This year we launched a $37.4 million New Education and Training Model with courses already underway.

We started work on a Masterplan for the South-West Community and Justice Precinct in collaboration with Campbelltown Council and other State and Commonwealth Government agencies. And we evolved the Place-Based Infrastructure Compact model to meet the specific needs of the councils in our area.

We increased the number of our industry partners to 34, building a strong pipeline of potential investment, job creation, and economic growth.

We launched the draft Blueprint and draft Economic Development Roadmap – Phase 1 both of which mark a fundamental shift away from old planning approaches where homes were developed before transport, services and jobs. Instead, we’ve outlined how we will focus on jobs-led growth and the delivery of services and infrastructure aligned with that growth.

Looking ahead, the Board will continue to support the Authority as it builds on this momentum. Priorities include co-ordinating the delivery of the commitments in the Western Sydney City Deal, releasing the Bradfield City Centre Masterplan and delivering the next phase of critical infrastructure for the new city centre.

We’ll go back out to market to attract new tenancies for the city centre, further develop our agribusiness opportunities and support the work continuing apace at the new airport site and the metro.

A key step forward will be going out to market for world leading providers for the energy, digital, cyber and circular economy systems that will service stage one of the Bradfield City Centre development. In the next year, the Authority will also move into their new headquarters in Penrith.

This is an enormous and exciting undertaking. I would like to acknowledge the strategic guidance and oversight my fellow Board colleagues have provided and thank WPCA CEO, Dr Sarah Hill, and everyone at the Authority for their work. We are only as good as our partners and I look forward to continuing to deepen our relationships with local council, landholders, industry partners and the community.

In all of this, our mission remains clear. Western Sydney will be the social, economic and environmental powerhouse of Australia delivering new industries and jobs that will improve the lives of people in Western Sydney and all of Australia.

Jennifer Westacott AO
Chair, Western Parkland City Authority

For the team at the Western Parkland City Authority (WPCA), 2021–22 was characterised by our mission to turn vision into outcomes — that is, to make the Western Parkland City the most green, connected and advanced in Australia.

The sheer size and anticipated growth of the Western Parkland City underscores its importance to NSW. As the 'chief advocates' for the area, our focus is to ensure that local communities benefit from that growth and change. A key part of this is our City Blueprint and Economic Development Roadmap — two initiatives we created to better understand how we could align planning with infrastructure and to help secure the city’s fair share of infrastructure funding.

The Bradfield City Centre and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis will be transformational, but this isn’t an 'either/or' proposition. While these city-scale investments are game changing and will shape our city for generations to come, we see liveability today at the local level across the Western Parkland City as equally important.

We want all the city centres across the Western Parkland City to be the beneficiaries of the significant employment and economic opportunities that will come. We also want to make sure everyone benefits from the improved mobility and accessibility to local jobs, services and recreation.

The ground-breaking $20 billion Western Sydney City Deal is testament to that focus. Four years on, the partnership between the Australian and NSW Governments and the eight Western Parkland local councils remains critical to the delivery of city shaping infrastructure. This includes the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Line, Regatta Park, Campbelltown Billabong, Wollondilly Shire Hall, Liverpool Lurnea Community Hub, Narellan Sports Hub and the Campbelltown Justice Precinct.

In addition to investing in ‘hard’ infrastructure, we are also investing in the people of the Western Parkland City. As we attract new industry and create a diversity of new employment opportunities, we are ensuring that residents have access to the right skills, training and education to take advantage of these new jobs.

This year, we launched the $37 million New Education and Training Model (NETM). The NETM is the first of its kind, flipping traditional learning models by designing and delivering courses in line with what local industry is telling us its workforce needs, and the skills needed to support emerging industries.

Our inaugural panel of education and training providers is collaborating with industry to design, develop and deliver 100 micro-credentials for 3,000 students as part of the four-year pilot.

Partnership remained a key theme for us throughout the year. We invited industry to partner with us at the Bradfield City Centre with the first opportunities for tenancy and investment being taken to market. We signed an additional eight memorandums of understanding bringing our total number of partners to 34. We also established an Investor Concierge Service to help businesses across the entire Western Parkland City establish and grow their operations.

We marked the commencement of activity at the Bradfield City Centre with a site cleansing by the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council. It was a significant milestone that underlines a commitment to ensure First Nation principles guide our work.

We appointed our first Director of Aboriginal Outcomes, welcomed our first contractors, NPM Indigenous, and began developing a Reconciliation Action Plan. Our First Building, designed by Hassell Studio together with Djinjama – Cultural Design and Research, will set a new standard in building design, especially in the way it pays respect to Aboriginal culture.

I am incredibly proud of what the WPCA team has achieved this year and the foundations they are laying for the next. As we prepare to move our headquarters to Penrith to be closer to our community, I am heartened by the number of new team members joining us from across Western Parkland City. This is a great demonstration of our vision for a true 30-minute city supported by jobs and better opportunities for all.

I want to thank our many government and industry partners. We cannot do this work alone and your support and investment are critical in enabling us to deliver on our remit.

Dr Sarah Hill
CEO, Western Parkland City Authority